This week we start our third and final unit of the course, focusing on "The Value of Art." We will look at several senses of "value" - the relationship of moral value and aesthetic value, different ways of assessing "aesthetic value," and public and political values of art, including issues of government funding of art and freedom of expression under the U.S. Constitution. My main goals are to introduce you to a variety of senses of "value" and to use good philosophical reasoning techniques to work through the issues they present. (I think these are some of the most fascinating issues in aesthetics today and I suspect many of you will find them interesting as well.)

MORAL VALUE AND AESTHETIC VALUE: Our central question this week is the relationship, if any, between moral value and aesthetic value.

1. First, in evaluating a work of art, we can ask what relationship the moral value of the work itself has to our judgment of the aesthetic quality of that work. To address that question, we first need to look at what we mean by "the moral value of a work of art." This might include a morally valuable story or lesson that is communicated in a work. In our discussion, let's explore what this might mean and think of examples of works which you consider to have moral value and also works which lack moral value. The next step of this analysis is to ask whether having moral value means that a work has aesthetic value or, to state this more mildly, whether moral value in a work contributes in some way to its aesthetic value. We can mark out several possibilities for this analysis:
   • Moral value and aesthetic value are completely independent - i.e., a work might be high in moral value and low in aesthetic value, or vice versa, and these are two separate and independent judgments.
   • Moral value and aesthetic value are necessarily related - i.e., moral value is an important part, if not the most important part, of our judgment that a work has aesthetic value.
   • Moral value and aesthetic value are contingently related - i.e., these values are related but not necessarily related; e.g., a work with high moral value is more likely to have aesthetic value but other factors might lead us to a final conclusion that the work lacks aesthetic value
2. Second, we can ask whether our knowledge of the morality of the artist is relevant to our judgment of the aesthetic value of a work itself. If we learn that a work was painted by Hitler, does Hitler's immorality lead us to lower our judgment of the aesthetic value of the painting? If we learn that Wagner was anti-Semitic, does that lead us to lower our aesthetic evaluations of his music? If you think Mother Theresa was highly moral, does that mean her paintings (if she had created some) would be better aesthetically because of her moral character? If this moral knowledge is relevant, precisely how is it relevant in our judgments of a work of art and why? In our discussion, consider a strategy we have used throughout the course - try to think of examples and counter-examples from your own experiences with art (in any medium, including pop culture) which support or contradict your position on these issues.
3. Third, we can ask whether the aesthetic value of a work of art should be judged, at least in part, by the impact it has on the morality of observers/perceivers of the work. If a work inspires us to be better people, does that mean the work has higher aesthetic value? If a work inspires us to be less moral, does that mean the work has less aesthetic value? Why or why not? If the work by Hitler's filmmaker, Leni Reifenstahl, inspired Germans to turn to Nazism, does that lower the aesthetic value of her work as a filmmaker? What judgments are appropriate for us to make of such work?

ASSIGNED READING: We are looking at three provocative readings this week. For each, ask how you think the writer would address the three main issues above.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" (Preface) by Oscar Wilde: Wilde states strong opinions on many of the issues above. How would he answer each of these questions. Wilde himself was persecuted and later jailed for his homosexuality. Consider how this life experience might have affected his views on these issues. In turn, is this biographic knowledge relevant in our aesthetic judgment of Wilde's work? (Work through the study questions at the end of the article for help in understanding his views. You are free to discuss those in the discussion group, as you wish.)

Idealization of the Human Form in Nazi Art: Consider what seems to be the moral content of Nazi Art, as discussed in these essays and examples. How would you evaluate this moral content? How does this assessment affect your assessment of the aesthetic value of this art? Please also take a look at this site, which has many example of art created by Nazis: Nazi & Soviet Art Assess the moral content of these works and consider the relationship of that moral content with the aesthetic judgment of the works.

"The Republic (Book X) by Plato (#200-319): How would Plato answer the questions posed above about the relationship between moral value and aesthetic value?

Think back to the dialogue we read at the beginning of the course between Senators d'Amato and Helm. Do they seem to agree more with Wilde or with Plato on these issues?

FINAL PROJECT: If you have not yet done so, please take a look at the instructions for your final project:

http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361/361_a5.html

You can also get to it by clicking "assignments" on the class page and scrolling down to "Final Project."

In a "traditional" course, you would typically take a final exam and perhaps submit a final term paper. This Final Project replaces such requirements and should take about the same amount of time you would spend on those.

Check the Lecture Notes for Week Ten for more information about the project and scheduling for the rest of the semester.

Continue to Lecture Notes for Week Twelve (posted 4/20/98)

Return to Lecture Notes Table of Contents

Return to Class Home Page: PHIL 361/599 (Spring 1998)

Questions and comments are welcome: jvancamp@csulb.edu

This page written and maintained by Julie Van Camp

Copyright Julie C. Van Camp 1998

Last updated: April 11, 1998